The summer heat is on this week, and maybe that has you thinking about cooling down with an ice cream cone.

Western Wisconsin is home to several kinds of home-made ice cream, and In tonight's Wandering Wisconsin, Sarah Stokes takes us to Olson's Ice Cream to show us how its made.

Sarah: When you come to Chippewa Falls, just look for the big ice cream cone that will lead you to the real stuff inside.

Doesn't this just sum up summer??? A sweet face with a sweet treat, and faces pressed up against the glass in anticipation of that favorite flavor.

Olson's has been putting ice cream in people's bellies and smiles on faces since 1923.

"We saw it as a treasure we wanted to keep," says Rick Hunt. He and his family bought the business from Dave Olson in 2007. He says they kept the tradition going.

"It's the history, quality is superior, ingredients are top notch, have not changed recipes," he adds.

And there's a lot of ice cream to make. Hunt says they have 70 flavors in all.

"We're constantly changing flavors. We typically run 30 flavors of ice cream at any given time."

And it's all made here on Bridge street in Chippewa Falls. When the weather is warm, the ice cream makers are really churning out the creamy goodness.

"This time of year between 500 and 750 gallons a week," Hunt added.

"We're watching 2 different flavors of ice cream being made, this is Butterfinger and this is Cherry Garden," he explains.

Hunt says the mix gets poured into the machine and that's when they manage to make a batch in a matter of minutes.

"The blades are turning the mix around the barrel and the barrel keeps freezing and scraping it away until it gets to the desired consistency."

He says consistency is important in both senses of the word. The consistency of the ice cream and of the people.

" It's a labor intensive product, most of the people who make the product are family so the consistency is easier to control because we know who's making the ice cream on a consistent basis."

Making this frozen dessert is all in the family here. Hunt's sister-in-law and her son are the ones filling up the freezer.

If it wasn't 10 below in there you might want to grab a spoon and stay all day. This is where they keep gallons and gallons of goodies.

Hunt lists the types of flavors, "the maple nuts, the butter pecans, and your chocolate chip mint, then there's the heath supreme, and the turtle lovers and the cashews then there's the different flavors like the licorices and the cotton candy and the black raspberry and the cookie doughs."

If that didn't get your mouth watering, there's the freezer towering with stacks of the tried and true.

"One of the things that amazes people is how much vanilla ice cream we go through," he said.

Hunt says there's about 250 gallons of it in here, but before any of it can go in your cone, it has to chill for 12 hours before it can head up front to put more smiles on more faces.

Sarah: Olson's Ice Cream also serves lunch and it's open all year round so you can get your fix seven days a week.

Olson's sells its ice cream to several area restaurants and you can pick up your own at Gordy's and Mega grocery stores.